Uber launches wheelchair-friendly vehicles

Taxi-hailing app Uber has launched a fleet of wheelchair-accessible vehicles in London.

The move sees 55 accessible vehicles put into use on the streets of the capital. But Uber says it plans to expand that number to more than 100 over the next 18 months.

During UberWav's first few weeks the company is estimating that waits for the vehicles, which feature rear-entry ramps and winches, will be between 25 and 40 minutes, depending on which area of London people are travelling in. Fares, it adds, will be the same as cheaper UberX prices.

Uber's general manager for London, Tom Elvidge, says as the service expands it will be aiming to keep waiting times as short as possible.

The company says it is investing over £1 million to get the scheme up and running.

The new service has been welcomed by a number of accessibility charities including Scope, Transport for All and Whizz-Kidz.

A spokesman for Scope says the service will help give wheelchair-users the "same choices as all other consumers".